During the conflicts between Despot Michael II Komnenos Doukas of Epirus and Emperor John Vatatzes, Golem and Theodore Petraliphas, who were initially Michael's allies, defected to John Vatatzes in 1252.[1][4][5] However, the Albanians rebelled again in 1257/1258 and rejoined the forces of Michael II.[1]

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George Akropolites, a contemporary, wrote his name as Goulamos (Γουλάμος), transcribed as Golěm.[6] His name is derived from the Slavic term golem meaning "big" or "large".[7][8]

According to Donald M. Nicol, Golem was the "chieftain of Krujë and Elbasan".[4] Other modern sources also call him "Prince of Krujë and Elbasan",[3] "Prince of Arbanon",[9] or "Territorial lord of Albanon".[10]

^ abcOsswald 2007, p. 134: "In 1252, Prince Golem of Arbanon submitted to the empire of Nicaea, but this did not last, since, in 1257/58, the Albanians rebelled again and rejoined the party of Michael II, ruler of Epirus."

^ abNicol 1986, p. 161: "But he was overruled by Demetrios Chomatianos M. In due course the daughter of Kamonas married a local magnate called Golem (or Goulamos), and Kroia and Arbanon reverted to native rule. Golem was connected not only with the Serbian royal family but also by marriage with John Batatzes of Nicaea; and it was through this latter connexion that he was tempted into joining the winning side in Macedonia in 1252, when the armies..."

^ abAssociation for the Promotion of Scholarship in Genealogy & American Society of Genealogists 1980, p. 40 (Note #29): "29. For "Goulamos" or Golem, Prince of Kroia and Elbasan c.1254, see Karl Hopf, Chroniques gréco-romanes inedites ou peu connues (Berlin, 1873), p. 535 (table XI. 13) and Donald M. Nicol, The Despotate of Epiros (Oxford, 1957), pp. 152–53, 161–162, 237 (table III). Golem married the daughter of Gregorios Kamonas, Prince of Kroia c.1215 by his second wife, a daughter of Stefan II Prvovencani, King of Serbia and his first wife Eudokia Angelina."

^ abNicol 1957, p. 152: "They had barely crossed the frontiers of Albania when Golem, the chieftain of Kroia and Elbassan, who had been helping Michael's army in the region of Kastoria, surrendered himself and his soldiers to Vatatzes. The rulers of Albania had kept..."

Association for the Promotion of Scholarship in Genealogy; American Society of Genealogists (1980). The Genealogist, Volumes 1–2. New York: The Association for the Promotion of Scholarship in Genealogy.